ADEC 2003 was held at Kylalami Exhibition Centre on 16-18 September, and by virtually all accounts, was an extreme success - excellently organised, and at a great venue. Also, this particular time of year seemed to be much more amenable to most.
The ADEC (Association of Distributors and Manufacturers of Electronic Components) Exhibition this year was run concurrently with the PMRA's (professional mobile radio association) exhibition, whose exhibitors had their stands in the hall alongside. This combination proved very effective since many visitors have an interest in both fields. According to the organisers, Progroup, around 2577 visitors attended the combined show this year (and this figure even excludes the 75 Tetra delegates for PMRA that also visited the expos).
In speaking with many of the exhibitors at the show, I certainly found that there was a very definite sense of enthusiasm and a considerable 'buzz' compared to the ADEC show of two years ago. Optimism about the electronics industry was high, and also, many visitors said that they felt that this year's show had been really worthwhile for them to take off some valuable time from work.
A New York-based electronics industry consulting firm, Prismark, recently put out its 'electronics industry report - 2004'. In this it says that the electronics industry is emerging from the most tumultuous period in its history. The year 2001 is 'one to be remembered in the semiconductor industry', it states. In 2001 - the year of the previous ADEC exhibition - total sales had dropped 32% compared to the year 2000, while unit shipments were down about 21%. In fact, the total sales of $139 bn for that year were actually lower than total sales of $144 bn in 1995! Weathering the worst worldwide downturn in its history, Prismark says that significant restructuring of the supply chain continues to reshape the industry, and there are finally positive signs of growth.
At ADEC 2003 the positive feel was clearly evident, and we do hope that 'this feel' will translate into real business rewards soon.
After ADEC 2003 was all done, and the exhibiting companies were back and settled at their respective home bases, I asked them to kindly provide some feedback for Dataweek in order to gauge its effectiveness and their feelings about the industry and such a show.
Thank you very much to those exhibitors who were able to find the time to respond within the time with your considered comments - I know many of you were so busy following up all those sales leads that it was difficult! (See 'Seen at ADEC 2003 - exhibitor feedback')
Your suggestions and objections will be passed on to the organisers and committee to help improve future exhibitions. As 'anonymous' general commentary this feedback follows in 'Seen at ADEC 2003'.
See you at ADEC 2005!
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